Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry is defending two of his teammates who have come under fire for spending a late night at a casino ahead of an embarrassing loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
On Tuesday night, Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll and point guard Cory Joseph were spotted at a downtown Cleveland casino at around 2 a.m.
Less than 24 hours later, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving combined for 71 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 116-78 beat-down of the Raptors in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, leaving even the most enthusiastic Toronto fans feeling deflated.
The Raptors were outpaced, outscored and out-rebounded, their deficit growing steadily throughout the game to a whopping 38 points by the end of the fourth quarter.
But Lowry told reporters on Thursday that Joseph and Carroll’s behaviour had nothing to do with the loss.
“They got plenty of rest, I’m sure. Whatever time they got out, it doesn’t matter… Whatever they did, they were prepared for the game. We just lost,” Lowry said.
The players wouldn’t be facing the same criticism had the team won the game, the point guard added.
And Carroll and Joseph’s behaviour is not unusual of the NBA. Past basketball stars such as Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley have been known to spend hours gambling during the post-season.
Steve Simmons, the Toronto Sun writer who broke the story, said Raptors management asked him to release the names of the players seen at the casino.
“I looked over my shoulder and there’s…DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph and probably five or six other people that I didn’t recognize walking through the casino,” he told CTV News Channel. “I thought to myself that it was strange behaviour before the game…and I noted it.”
Simmons said that, while Carroll and Joseph’s actions are not to blame for the loss, the news does them no favour with fans, whose support they need now perhaps more than ever.
“It’s just not something that looks good to the public,” he said.
Simmons said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey told him the team was reviewing film of the Western Conference final until about midnight, but that he didn’t know about Carroll and Joseph’s subsequent outing.
The Raptors lost the first two games of the series, but mounted an impressive to win Games 3 and 4 in Toronto to tie the series at 2-2.
The Cavaliers now lead the series 3-2. That means the Raptors face a must-win situation when they return for Game 6 on Friday.
With files from CTV News Channel and Peter Akman
